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  • Internet Addiction – Pros and Cons

    Internet Addiction – Pros and Cons

    We all spend a lot of time surfing the web. It can simplify finding things, getting information from trusted sources, and where your kids are concerned it helps with education, completing their school work, performing research, accessing tutoring and study clubs and connecting with school study partners online. There are certainly times when your kids are not using their internet time for school and with that said it is actually quite difficult to know exactly what your kids are doing online.

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  • Compiled Versus Interpreted Languages?

    Compiled Versus Interpreted Languages?

    Many people seem to have this idea that interpreted languages are somehow not a proper programming language (as opposed to compiled languages). Well if you ask me that is false. While I agree that some languages are better at some things than others, the fact that language is compiled or not should not be the main factor by which you should be judging its suitability for some given purpose.

    In order to understand what i mean with this claim you need to understand this: in order for a program written in any language to run it needs to be translated to binary CPU instructions. This same rule applies to all languages (starting with languages considered to be serious and ending with esoteric languages like Brainf*ck).

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  • Things Every Small Business Needs to Know About HIPAA Hosting

    Things Every Small Business Needs to Know About HIPAA Hosting

    HIPAA, or the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, puts forth specific requirements for the way businesses manage patient information . More and more healthcare facilities are moving their records into digital format, making it increasingly important for small businesses to understand HIPAA as it relates to online hosting of personal and private information.

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  • 10 Easy Ways to Make Your Blog Better

    10 Easy Ways to Make Your Blog Better

    When it comes to blogging many of us forget that the simple things matter. We get so caught up in the ads and the content that we forget what makes a blog stand out to readers first is the way it looks. First impressions matter here if you want readers to stick around long enough to read your content.

    That is why I wanted to go over a few simple points about blogging that you may have forgotten n your rush to get out great content.

    10 Easy Ways to Make Your Blog Better

    1. Focus is essential

    The first thing I want to remind you of is that your blog’s focus, its niche topic, is essential to its success. If your blog is not focused or has too wide of a focus you will lose your readers. There is a metaphor I like to remember when I think about focus.

    It is like spaghetti sauce. There is smooth and chunky but no in between. Some people like smooth sauce and are happy. Some like chunky and are happy, but if you try to make an in-between neither of them will be happy. Like this, blogging is about making your content fit your readers.

    2. Who are you writing for

    Speaking of fitting your readers, once you find out what your topic is you need to find out who your target market is. Is it retired people? Teenagers? Business people? Stay at home parents? You cannot write effectively if you do not know who is reading your blog.

    Instead use resources online to find out who your blog’s market is and what they are looking for.

    3. Doing research

    Now when it comes to finding out what readers are looking for it pays to do your research. There are many programs online that will give you insight into what search words and phrases your target market are looking for.

    Once you find out those keywords to work with you will be able to tailor your content to meet their needs and get the traffic you want.

    4. Use keywords

    Keywords are overused and underrated. Keyword packing, where your content is nothing more than a series of keywords that no one would actually want to read, is a definite no-no. However if your content is inspired by your researched keywords you will get tons of traffic and meet the needs of your readers.

    An example of this would be a site for special needs kids. The writer found out there was a lot of searching for Down syndrome and Down’s syndrome but no one knew what the appropriate term was.

    He addressed this issue in his blog and at the same time increased his traffic by incorporating two huge keywords in his post.

    5. Keep it short

    While you should be focused on the quality of your blog posts you should not worry too much about the length. A typical blog post should be between five hundred and two thousand words. If you write over two thousand words readers will not stick around to read it all.

    If you go shorter than five hundred words not only do your posts look puny and useless to readers but search engines will not pick up on them as frequently which means fewer readers to work with in the first place. Keeping your posts short but high quality will assure you the most return for your effort.

    6. Update a lot

    Speaking of frequent blog posts, you should update your blog at least once per day. I know that may be a lot for some blog topics but updating frequently raises your blog’s rankings in search engines and gets you more exposure.

    By constantly keeping your blog at the top of news feeds and readers you can keep your blog in your target marker’s mind and increase your exposure to new readers also. New is always better in the online world so make an effort to update your blog as much as possible.

    7. Make it readable

    Another aspect of blogs that I have noticed many times is that the blog itself is not readable. How can you expect more traffic if your blog looks like word vomit on a page? Instead of making your blog’s appearance an afterthought or counting on a computer program to tell you what your blog should look like take a look at your blog yourself.

    Is it something you would read? Do ads cover up the text? Is the background the same color as the text making it impossible to read? Do the colors clash hurting your eyes? Is it boring and dull or so bright and busy that you can’t tell where to start? Address these issues in your blog by cresting a user friendly space for readers.

    8. Make it usable

    Speaking of user friendly once you address the looks of the blog make sure everything works right. I can’t tell you how often I have run from a blog because it just did not work. The links were broken, the images did not load, the blog took so long to load it was ridiculous and so on.

    Make sure your blog is easy to use and give readers the ability to easily move from one post to another within your blog. The more internal movement you allow the longer they will stay and the better off your blog will be.

    9. Add images

    When it comes to a blogs appeal the visual is the first thing readers get. Is your blog nothing but text? How boring! Add some images, graphics, or videos to make your blog posts stand out above the rest.

    Many people find images so appealing they will stop to read the text that goes along with it. Even image searches can bring in new readers to your blog so images and videos are well worth adding. You can find free stock photos on sites like FreeDigitalPhotos.net or import videos from YouTube.

    You can also make your own videos or images using screen captures or web cameras.

    10. Become a part of the community

    Last but not least you should become a part of your community. That can mean your blogging community, your local community, or even your national or worldwide community. Things like natural disasters and food aid are great places to start in giving your time and resources.

    Maybe you can write an article for their website or volunteer your web skills to help them to update their blog. You can donate money, time or services to a variety of organizations and get a link to your website or image badge in exchange.

    That way you can get in new readers and broaden your exposure to their readers or fellow volunteers. In the blogging community you can comment on your fellow blogger’s post and give insightful advice or commentary. You can also offer your help or even do guest post for them in exchange for a link on their site.

    Through this you get exposure to their audience and some may come to your site just based on how well you write your comments.

    There are many more ways that you can improve your blog without having to jump through hoops or spend lots of money. These are just ten simple ways to take a second look at your blog and make sure it is running the way you want it too.

    Do not forget that your target market is people not computers. Try to stay human and give people what they really need: quality content that matters to them. After that everything else is easy.

  • 6 Tips for Attracting Repeat Visitors to Your Site

    6 Tips for Attracting Repeat Visitors to Your Site

    Every website owner would want to have as many people as possible visiting his site. However, with the multitude of competing sites out there, attracting new visitors has become an increasingly daunting task. Even more difficult is getting people to make repeat visits to your site.

    Here are some tips which will increase the chances of people coming back to your site.

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  • How to Turn Your Computer Into a Full-Fledged Karaoke Machine

    How to Turn Your Computer Into a Full-Fledged Karaoke Machine

    Karaoke is an incredible wonderland, where you may feel like a real star while singing your favorite songs. Karaoke can make any of your home parties or celebrations rocking, delivering unmatched excitement to your guests. As you will surely agree, there are very few other entertainment activities that can bring as much pleasure as karaoke singing does. It is one of the most popular pastimes for people of any age and lifestyle all over the Globe. It won’t be a lie to tell that almost everyone likes karaoke!

    If you are an ardent karaoke fan, then there are high chances that you attend frequently local karaoke clubs to enjoy your favorite pastime and express your singing passion. You may be surprised, but today it is absolutely possible to turn any home computer or laptop with even basic functionality into a full-fledged karaoke machine to enjoy an ultimate karaoke pleasure and experience just within the comfort of your own home.

    Actually, recent computer software advancements allow to turn computer karaoke from being just an idea into the reality. Moving karaoke entertainment to the privacy of your own home also allows you to save a fortune on going to karaoke clubs, where you typically have to sing and listen to the same cloying songs over and over again.

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  • Why Use Fibre-optic Data Network

    Why Use Fibre-optic Data Network

    Fibre-optic communication is a mode of conveying information from one point to another via pulses of light sent through an optical fibre. This is so far, the fastest mode of transmitting data from one place to the next. Amcom is a leading network solutions provider via fibre-optic network.

    Cable networks have been heavily used in the past to transmit data. However, the future is fibre-optic network. We at Amcom provide reliable services on this data network because we believe in the quality and performance of a fibre-optic network, which has several benefits.

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  • How to Stay Safe With Social Networks

    How to Stay Safe With Social Networks

    If you own a business – online or offline – or just enjoy creating a website or blog, then chances are you will inevitably be involved in one or more social networks. Social networks have taken off tremendously in the past 8 years or so, and it seems most people seem to have used social network in one form or another. Today, networks such as Facebook and Twitter, have become an important part of reporting events and daily lives more than any form of news.

    Of course, as with many things in life, social networks are not immune to risks. Unfortunately, many people have had malicious things happen to them, their friends, or their family because of social networks. While social networks can be tremendous resources, it is important to understand what you can do to stay safe while using online social networks.

    Securing Your Social Network

    If you bank or perform financial transactions online, then you know how important security can be. When it comes to social networks, you should approach those sites in a similar manner. Whether it is a bank or social network, both types of sites contain your personal information that you don’t want known to strangers.

    Here is a few tips to help keep you safe when using social networks:

    Create a strong login. While you may not be able to choose your user name, as some networks automatically may use your e-mail address, you can choose a strong password. Create a password that is long and strong. Ensure your password is at least 10 characters in length and contains letters (both upper and lower case), numbers, and punctuation and symbols. When it comes to passwords, the longer a password, the strong it is. You also don’t want to use the same password with other sites, so ensure that it is unique. If you have trouble remembering many passwords, you should look at using a password manager such as LastPass.

    Encrypt you connection. Most, if not all social networks, now provide an option to secure your connection using SSL. This encrypts any data that is exchanged between your computer and the social network. If the option is enabled by default, and it is available from the social network, you should enable it. Web browsers will display “https://” beside the URL of the social network, and also display a lock icon somewhere on the browser windows to indicate the connection is encyrpted.

    Be aware of phishing e-mails. Many times you may receive an e-mail reportedly from a social network, however, many times it could be criminals trying to get you to divulge your social network user ID and password. Such e-mails will usually contain a link to a malicious site that is disguised to look like the real social network site. If you receive such e-mails that you are unsure about, then you should manually open your browser window and log into the social network directly. From there you should then check for messages from the site.

    Be wary of link scams. While e-mails are a major way for criminals to obtain information, they may also post malicious links on social networking sites. Such links will usually take you to a site that infects your computer with malware. You may even receive suspicious links from a friend after their account has been compromised. If you are unsure, or suspicious of a link from a friend, you should call them up and ask them about the link.

    Be aware of what apps you have installed. When you add or install an app through a social network, be aware that the quality control process may not be enough to prevent malicious apps from appearing on social networks. Many apps require specific access to your account, so you should understand what permissions you are providing to each app, and what happens after the app is installed. Ensure you only install apps that are well-known and trusted, and only if you need to install the app.

    While we all like to use social networks for different reasons, it is important to take the necessary steps to keep yourself, your friends, and your family protected. Social networks can be a very useful tool for a variety of reasons, but you must also be aware of the malicious activity that can occur if you are not careful.